Mangala to meet Rice in US

by Ananth Palakidnar

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera will meet US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and discuss the Lankan peace process and other bilateral issues in Washington today.

Samaraweera who is on his first visit to the US since he became the Foreign Minister will brief Rice on the current state of the peace process and on the Foreign policy of President Mahinda Rajapakse, diplomatic sources said.

The Foreign Minister accompanied by the Director General of the Peace Secretariat Dr. John Gunaratne will also meet Senator Richard Lugar, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and US Chamber of Commerce officials. Minister Samaraweera will also have discussions with the Lankan associations in the US.

Sri Lanka's Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington Ravinath Ariyasinha commenting on Foreign Minister Samaraweera's US visit said the timing of the visit was very significant.

The US Government has urged the Government and the LTTE to go for peace talks to prevent violence and to find a political settlement to the ethnic crisis.